Well the only way EB wins in the threat department is if in fact you find yourself forced to Hammer Shot more often with Gut, because otherwise Gut seems to convincingly do more damage. Albeit the threat curve is different (upfront vs. over time.) I suspect Bioware wants us to use EB, so if Gut does "win" I wouldn't be surprised to see EB buffed (win/win.) Regarding simplicity, I have two points: 1 - Simple is actually better when tanking; having highly involved rotations sounds "cool" in theory but in practice is only compelling when you're bored out of your mind bashing some random tank-and-spank boss. With dynamic encounters, adding excessive (key word) complexity to rotations often adds a layer that just becomes frustrating. 2 - I'm not sure Gut makes life materially easier as now you have to manage another debuff while playing with UI: Circa 1998™. I do think EB will be more fun to "theorycraft" but I don't think Gut changes things so much that you can just bash a key while watching TV. Definitely enjoying the dialogue and I'm more than happy to be proven wrong in the long-run regarding Gut. Maybe it's the fact I played a Druid tank/healer in WoW that makes me miss those lovely bleeds!

You make a fair point regarding the Ammo cost; and I would certainly not advocate Gut over EB if the damage differential wasn't so large (in my opinion.) In a single target situation (more on that later) I simply do not find that spending 2 ammo for Gut every 15 seconds keeps me from using SS or HIB while maintaining regen. If I felt I was unable to SS because of Gut then obviously the math just won't work - so it bears testing. The gap here is just pretty darn wide which makes me willing to suffer the utility loss. This is true, in AoE situations you will consume more ammo and therefore an ability like Gut will not be efficient. I'm not sure though how important this will be in the long run as most large packs are effectively "trash" that can be managed through. It's certainly something to consider. Ultimately I think it's a trade-off which is great (I like having to pick between two compelling choices.)

You make a fair point regarding the Ammo cost; and I would certainly not advocate Gut over EB if the damage differential wasn't so large (in my opinion.) In a single target situation (more on that later) I simply do not find that spending 2 ammo for Gut every 15 seconds keeps me from using SS or HIB while maintaining regen. If I felt I was unable to SS because of Gut then obviously the math just won't work - so it bears testing. The gap here is just pretty darn wide which makes me willing to suffer the utility loss. This is true, in AoE situations you will consume more ammo and therefore an ability like Gut will not be efficient. I'm not sure though how important this will be in the long run as most large packs are effectively "trash" that can be managed through. It's certainly something to consider. Ultimately I think it's a trade-off which is great (I like having to pick between two compelling choices.)

I find that the Riot Strike CD is acceptable and not worth investing shortening the cool down via talents. There are just way too many other useful things to spend your points on and candidly you shouldn't be the only one tasked to use interrupts. Bear in mind Cryo Grenade does the job too in a pinch.

I find that the Riot Strike CD is acceptable and not worth investing shortening the cool down via talents. There are just way too many other useful things to spend your points on and candidly you shouldn't be the only one tasked to use interrupts. Bear in mind Cryo Grenade does the job too in a pinch.

Here is my "back of the envelope" math: Energy Blast: Average Base Damage = 758 Intimidation Modifier = 45 Blaster Augs Modifier = 23 Total Damage = 826 Gut: Average Base Damage = 651 Frontline Offense Modifier = 39 Internal Damage (DoT) = 784 Blaster Augs Modifier (DoT) = 24 Total Damage over 15s = 1,497* *I'm making a conservative assumption absent testing that Frontline Offense only impacts the "front end" damage on Gut. I'm also only applying Blaster Augs to the DoT (Internal) Now the two key questions: 1 - Do you plan to use E-blast more than once in a 15 second window? 2 - Do you care about the energy return feature in E-blast? In my opinion (need to test obviously) the energy return isn't material enough to justify the loss in damage (threat) in scenarios where E-Blast is used once every 15 seconds. I don't know that you really buy yourself the ability to string in another ability due to the return (if so then obviously the value increases for E-Blast.) Secondly, even if you use E-Blast every say 10 seconds you can still clip Gut in before the DoT fully expires and potentially stay ahead. Thanks again, good discussion.

Here is my "back of the envelope" math: Energy Blast: Average Base Damage = 758 Intimidation Modifier = 45 Blaster Augs Modifier = 23 Total Damage = 826 Gut: Average Base Damage = 651 Frontline Offense Modifier = 39 Internal Damage (DoT) = 784 Blaster Augs Modifier (DoT) = 24 Total Damage over 15s = 1,497* *I'm making a conservative assumption absent testing that Frontline Offense only impacts the "front end" damage on Gut. I'm also only applying Blaster Augs to the DoT (Internal) Now the two key questions: 1 - Do you plan to use E-blast more than once in a 15 second window? 2 - Do you care about the energy return feature in E-blast? In my opinion (need to test obviously) the energy return isn't material enough to justify the loss in damage (threat) in scenarios where E-Blast is used once every 15 seconds. I don't know that you really buy yourself the ability to string in another ability due to the return (if so then obviously the value increases for E-Blast.) Secondly, even if you use E-Blast every say 10 seconds you can still clip Gut in before the DoT fully expires and potentially stay ahead. Thanks again, good discussion.

Fair enough, and I realize you're not done yet with the guide. To be nit-picky a "Gut" build isn't hybrid as the goal isn't to give up some tanking to gain some DPS. Every relevant tanking talent is selected with the only material change being replacing Energy Blast with Gut. Thanks for the effort!

Fair enough, and I realize you're not done yet with the guide. To be nit-picky a "Gut" build isn't hybrid as the goal isn't to give up some tanking to gain some DPS. Every relevant tanking talent is selected with the only material change being replacing Energy Blast with Gut. Thanks for the effort!

You might want to consider adding the "Gut" build into your discussion (where you forego Energy Blast for Gut in Tactics.) While the final assessment is still open for debate, I don't think Energy Blast is by any means the clear-cut better talent when compared to Gut (enhanced by the Frontline Offense talent as well.) Time will tell, but I'm having a hard time convincing myself to take Energy Blast. This is the build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#801G0GrdorogZMsr0o.1

You might want to consider adding the "Gut" build into your discussion (where you forego Energy Blast for Gut in Tactics.) While the final assessment is still open for debate, I don't think Energy Blast is by any means the clear-cut better talent when compared to Gut (enhanced by the Frontline Offense talent as well.) Time will tell, but I'm having a hard time convincing myself to take Energy Blast. This is the build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#801G0GrdorogZMsr0o.1